ZURICH: Swiss lender Notenstein Private Bank said on it would buy Basel based bank La Roche 1787, which manages 6.5 billion Swiss francs ($7 billion) of assets, for an undisclosed price.
La Roche is the latest in a string of smaller Swiss players to sell out. Experts and bankers predict the Swiss banking sector will shrink by about a third in the coming years under the burden of higher costs and dwindling revenue.
The sale of family run La Roche, which was founded in 1787 and is among the oldest banks in Switzerland, comes as the country’s banks face a host of problems from a long running US investigation into tax evasion, a stronger Swiss franc and far higher costs of doing business.
All business activities and staff at La Roche will be moved to Notenstein within the next six months, the two banks said, except for clients with any connection to the United States, where prosecutors are investigating the role of Swiss banks in helping wealthy Americans evade taxes.
La Roche Chairman Johann Jakob La Roche said in a statement “This transaction creates value for our clients, who can now benefit from the comprehensive range of services offered by Notenstein and its asset management units”.
La Roche is among the Swiss banks to have come forward to work with US officials in a government brokered scheme to pay penalties for their activities with US clients, in return for not being criminally prosecuted.
